Transcription:
78 St Michaels Alaska July 4th 1881 My dear Mother. Since I wrote you before from this place we have been again in the
Arctic Ocean in search of the land party that we sent out from near Kol illegible chin Island to explore the Asiatic Coast
to the westward, in search of tidings of the Jeanette the two lost whalers Vigilant Mr Wolastan? . We found our party near
Cape Serdze waiting our arrival succeeded in getting them safely on board after much difficulty on account of the ice that
was packed a mile or two wide along the shore, beaten by a heavy sea that kept the loose blocks on the